“I think it’s crazy that gay couples, but also women who have medical issues, have to go abroad to fulfil their desire to have children, while all medical and technical expertise and knowledge is in house,” Nij Geertgen director Marc Scheijven was quoted as saying on the programme, which airs on Tuesday (November 13).

Scheijven’s remarks echo the opinion of the Dutch Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology (NVOG).

“We see every year that dozens of male couples turn to doctors with this request, but until now that is not possible in the Netherlands and men are forced to go abroad,” NVOG director Annemiek Nap told Dutch news outlet RTL Nieuws.

Nap also told De Monitor: “Gay couples who desire to have children should be able to access IVF treatment in the Netherlands.”

Two other clinics in Zwolle and in Amsterdam have yet to make a decision on the matter.

What does the Dutch law say about gay couples and same-sex parenting?

According to Dutch law, the person that gives birth to the child is the legal parent, even if the child “was conceived using a donor egg.”

The current state of the law, experts say, would have to adjust to better regulate evolving surrogacy practices.

The law changed in 2014 to simplify the process by which the woman in a lesbian relationship who does not give birth to the baby can be recognised as the child’s legal parent.